Stockholm Garden
by Demon Flame
Summary: After the events of the training camp, Shiemi must split her time between entertaining a demons latest whims and keeping her fellow exorcists from finding out. How long can she keep this up before it all comes crashing down around her?
1. Whims and Provocations

Chapter One

Whims and Provocations

Amaimon stared out of his brother's office window as he rolled a new flavored lollipop around his mouth. Melon wasn't a particular favorite of his but it's what Mephisto had lying around so for now it would have to do. Perhaps he'd try the sour lemon next.

"Are you paying attention?"

He turned wide eyes to a very annoyed looking older brother. With the penalty being death should he botch this, it was probably better to focus on his brothers instructions rather than different flavors of candy. He blinked and turned away from the window.

Mephisto, seeing he now held his brothers attention, continued. "As I was saying, my little students have already left for their camping trip. After they finish gathering the lanterns and returning to camp you'll attack. "I want it made clear that none of them are to die. You are simply to push our dear baby brother into using his flames."

Amaimon nodded. He had made that point clear several times. Don't kill Rin and don't kill the humans. "Do you plan on making that point again tonight?"

Mephisto raised one eyebrow at him. "I do."

Amaimon turned to look back out of the office window. His older brother was always planning something and could get quite irate should anyone disturb those plans. The last of the melon candy melted onto his tongue and he spit out the soggy stick and stuck his thumb nail into his mouth as a replacement. His brother made a disgruntled noise and began to scold him. Something about proper respect for someone else's space but Amaimon wasn't paying too much attention.

Instead he thought about Rin's schoolmates and which of them would be best suited to goad his brother into a fight. The useless brother would normally be his first choice. But he was a trained exorcist that was just capable enough to not bother with. The woman from the amusement park was even more useless for this endeavor and would more than likely end up getting in the way. He'd need to have those two occupied during his fight with Rin.

Out of the rest only one stood out as the perfect bait. The woman who had been Rin's partner at the amusement park would suit his plans just fine. She was weak, pathetically so even. Why was something so fragile putting herself into such dangerous situations? Surely she knew that she'd be used in such a manner as he was planning to so as to hurt her schoolmates.

Amaimon pulled his thumbnail away and opened the window. "I'll be going now." Was all the notice he gave before he jumped out the window and plummeted to the concrete, six stories below. Above him he heard his brother shouting about doors. As soon as his feet touched the ground he raced off to the forest. If he remembered correctly, demon moths inhabited this forest. The larger females could lay eggs under a humans skin that when they hatch could control the human. All he had to do now was slaughter a couple hundred of its children so it would cooperate.

XxX

That annoying woman had surprised him with that barrier and if the opportunity presented itself he would remove her head and take the skull as a souvenir. He didn't care if his brother was fond of her mostly bear chest or not. Perhaps he'd give Mephisto her nipples as a gift.

He arrived back at the camp site just as the larva hatched and took hold of the woman/pawn. Staying hidden in the trees he beckoned her to him and like a lamb to slaughter she came. He jumped down to intercept her before that hag could pull her back into the safety of the barrier. The untempered rage on his brothers face was all he needed to know that he had chosen the right hostage.

"What did you do to her?" The wench demanded as she held Rin at bay with her blade.

He stroked her hair enjoying the way it fueled his brothers rage. "I had a demon lay her egg in her." It should have been obvious by this point. He had been sure the wench had caught on to the situation before.

He glanced down to his hostage who's head was on his shoulder and pulled her even closer. "Now she'll do whatever I command." Rin would burst into fathers flames at any moment now, all that was left was to separate him from the worthless humans.

Bending down he lifted the girl into a sitting position on his right arm. She was surprisingly light and had draped one arm over his shoulders. Turning around he jumped back into the trees, passing Behemoth as he ran further into the forest.

Rin was on his heels without hesitation, calling for him to wait. "What the hell do you want from me? What do you need Shiemi for?"

Amaimon paused on a tree branch out of his younger brothers reach and studied him. He looked desperate and oh so mortal that it was sickening. Perhaps he needed another push before he'd get serious. "Let's see," He pondered allowed. From what he had observed at the park his brother was infatuated with the woman on his arm but hadn't laid a claim to her. "Yeah! I'll make her my wife."

"W -what?"

He sounded confused as though that was the last thing he could have said. Almost there, just a little more and he would snap. He turned to the woman and began to recite the ritual lines to claim her. "Do you promise to be faithful to me in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health? Will you love me and honor me all the days of your life?"

She nodded her head still in a daze. "Then seal this covenant with a kiss." He spoke as he leaned in closer to her. Rin would stop him before he got to kiss her but it didn't hurt to play it up a bit. He opened his mouth wide and stuck his long tongue out.

The snap was almost audible as Rin flew into the air with his still sheathed sword in both hands. "Don't screw with me!" He roared before bringing the sword down to Amaimon's head.

He easily blocked it with his forearm. Just how much more would he have to do before Rin was ready to play. "That's my line." With a flick of his finger he sent the halfling three hundred yards in the opposite direction uprooting the trees in his path. He jumped into the air and followed after him. With another flick he sent the teenager toward the freshly made rubble that was once the forest floor. The girl sat patiently on his arm while her friend was being beaten.

"Why won't you draw your sword? Don't be so pretentious." What kind if a demon didn't want to fight. It was weird enough he had to be forced in the first place but Amaimon had chalked that up to only being a half breed.

He floated down closer until his feet touched the ground. "Hello?" Rin wasn't moving. "Wasn't this girl important to you? Why aren't you taking this seriously?"

Rin started to struggle but continued to remain on the ground. "Drop dead." Were his only words.

Amaimon sighed and looked to the girl who was completely lost to the world around her. It occurred to him then that her eyes were a vibrant shade of green he hadn't seen before. There was a cousin he and Rin shared that liked to collect human eyeballs and he had promised to bring back a few for him. He was about to voice all of this when another option struck him.

It was clear that his half demon brother had human feelings for this woman for whatever reason. Humans were a stupid bunch who clung to mortal bonds like a life line. Rin was being stubborn about fighting him so perhaps having an ace up his sleeve would prove useful in the future. Mephisto would probably lecture him about it later, but he had been told to do whatever was necessary to provoke their younger brother into using his power short of killing anyone.

"You'll witness of course." He said as an after thought.

"Huh?"

The woman turned her head, offering him her untouched, virgin skin. Amaimon opened his mouth wide and sank his fangs into the perfectly smooth column of her neck, marking her forever as his. The woman gave a small whimper but remained obedient while his darling brother gave out a cry. Amaimon pulled back, her blood dripping down his chin before he captured her lips.

"Stop it you bastard! Get your hands off her!" He snarled.

Not that it did any good. Amaimon was thoroughly enjoying the rage radiating off his baby brother in waves. And now thanks to his stroke of genius, he could achieve this anytime he wanted just by flaunting this woman in his face. How funny, he never knew how useful a human could be. No wonder Mephisto liked them so much.

His victory was short lived when something bright and shrieking flew past his face and exploded. Pulling away he looked behind him to see three of the students ready to fight him and sweating bullets.

"Why are you leaving us out of this? We want our share of the fun?" The one with the streaked hair called out, preparing to light another firework.

They paused when he fully turned around and he took the moment to wipe the blood from his mouth and face with the back of his hand. Rin shouted for them run, a wise choice.

"Okumura! Get out of here when you get the chance!" The shortest man said. He seemed to quake with fear and had his body turned to run at a moments notice.

The pink haired one mumbled something about saving Moriyama. Was that his brides name? He narrowed his eyes at the man. Exactly how many men were enamored with his woman? She was so weak. Was that an admiral trait in a mortal wife?

Rin began to plead with them to leave and he turned around to see his brother on his hands and knees. How pathetic.

The shriek of a second firework was all the warning he had before it hit him in the back of the head and exploded. He could smell burnt hair and he reached up to the spike on the top of his head to find that the explosive had fried his hair. There was a moment of silence as he squeezed the smoking mass of fried hair. Then the sound of muffled snickering reached his sensitive ears along with the word broccoli. Out of the corner of his eye he saw it was the pink haired one again.

Amaimon jumped down to stand in front of him before a swift kick sent him flying through the air and into a tree. The human fell to the ground with a satisfying thud. He turned to what seemed to be the leader of the three who backed away. The smaller one who had shot the explosive at his head ran to stand in front if him as a shield. Amaimon didn't even bother to glance at him before he poked his outstretched arm and broke it. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Now that he was out of the way he grabbed the last one by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Were you laughing at me?" His answer would depend on how much damage was inflicted upon him.

"I have no business with you. Okumura's the one who's pissing me off!" He said shouting the last part to Rin.

Amaimon really didn't like being ignored. "What are you talking about?" With a disappointed sigh he threw him to the ground and turned to Rin.

He had forced himself into a standing position and was clutching his sheathed sword with shaking hands. One more push, if he didn't snap he'd just pluck her eyeballs and pocket them. Turning fully to his brother so that he could see exactly what he was about to do,he grabbed the woman by the chin. Her mouth was smeared with blood. Deciding that it lessened her appeal he leant in and started to lick it off her face. For a human, her blood was rather sweet, like honeysuckles.

"Rin!" Apparently the useless brother had returned from dealing with the demon bugs. "It's a trap, don't listen to him."

Amaimon didn't bother to spare him a glance and continued his ministrations, pulling the woman's bottom lip into his mouth and sucking on it.

"Yukio, I'm sorry." Rin began. "I'm no good at lying and tricking people." Which was a really poor trait in a demon though humans seemed to value it. "So I'll use my power for kindness!"

There it was! That's what he wanted to hear. The scrape of the sword as it was pulled from its scabbard was like music to his ears. He pulled away to see his fathers blue flames lighting up the night. Finally! He dropped the girl and started laughing. Now the fun could begin!


	2. Intruder in the Garden

Chapter Two

Intruder in the Garden

Shiemi gingerly brushed her fingertips against the wound on her neck. Tears springing to her eyes from the sharp sting of pain. It had been three weeks since the training camp and while everything had settled down again, the mark had hardly healed. According to Shura Sensei, it would probably take weeks to heal and even then it would leave a mark. She had said there was a type of toxin in the saliva of demons that slowed down the healing process.

She didn't remember anything after the demon larva had taken control of her body. But Shura Sensei had explained what had happened and what the wound meant. The Demon King of Earth had claimed her as his own all for the sole purpose of antagonizing Rin. Shura Sensei had gone on to explain that while usually demons only took the occasional human lover, every once in a while, a demon would claim a human mate. She had then been told that Amaimon had disappeared but if he returned she was to report it immediately.

Shiemi prayed that she never saw that monster again. She had been plagued with nightmares of him ever since it happened. But surely he wouldn't. He had only used her after which she had been discarded. What was worse was that Shura Sensei had warned her against forming a relationship of any kind. If Amaimon returned he might kill her and her lover. Demons viewed their marked humans as property and could get territorial should someone threaten to take it from them.

How would she ever tell her mother that she was married to a demon. The tears that had gathered in her eyes finally spilled over as she bowed her head. At least only Yuki and Shura Sensei fully understood about her situation, her classmates thought it was all over now that he was gone.

XxX

Amaimon yawned before popping a yellow candy into his mouth. It was one of the pieces from a handful he had snatched from his brothers candy dish. It appeared this one was a lemon-honey flavor, honey was one of his favorite flavors after watermelon.

The sound of a door opening and shutting alerted him to his brothers presence. He ignored the entranced and continued to concentrate on the flavor of the candy in his mouth.

"Amaimon." He greeted as he moved about his office.

Amaimon offered up a halfhearted wave but said nothing. Only when he felt a large hand clasp his shoulder did he turn to face his brother. Mephisto wore a smile that promised pain. "So my little brother finally took a wife. And one of my darling little students no less."

Maybe he hadn't thought that course of action through as much as he thought he had. Mephisto had kept him in limbo for the last several weeks until everything had calmed down in the exorcist ranks. Deciding the best course of action was silence, he popped another candy in his mouth. This time the flavor was lime-coconut.

"Tell me brother, what do you plan to do with this woman?" He went on, squeezing down on his shoulder painfully.

Really, he didn't have any plans for this woman. She was merely convenient for provoking Rin and should the need arise all he would need to do is fetch his woman and dangle her in front of his brother.

As though reading his mind, twin purple eyebrows lifted in disbelief. "You're just going to leave her?"

"I have no use of her except to lord her over Rin." He answered bluntly.

Unlike some of his brothers and his father he had never taken a wife. There were vary few high level female demons as they mostly died during child birth from mating with a stronger demon. Usually with his father, brothers and even some of his cousins. Human wives were meant for carnal pleasures while demon wives were meant for siring progeny. Amaimon had always preferred to release his tension in battle and so had never bothered with females of either dimension.

A hard smile that looked as though it might crack his face replaced the disbelief. "Clearly, you don't know what you've done. Tell me, do you know the laws of taking a wife?"

Because Mephisto was starting to look manic, Amaimon answered. "When a woman's been marked no other may pursue her. The woman is henceforth bonded to the man until death. If the vows are broken the one responsible may be put to death. If another seeks a marked mate than he shall also face death." Everyone knew that, Amaimon didn't see the point Mephisto was trying to make.

Digging his fingers in to Amaimon's shoulder he hauled him over to one of the office windows and pointed down to the students milling about. Immediately his eyes zeroed in on the half demon, his brother. He was running across the courtyard waving his hands and attracting attention from the nearby humans. He only stopped when he reached a female in the school uniform. It took him a moment, but he soon realized the female was his bride. Jealousy surged in his veins at the sight. He may not care about the human but she was marked as his.

"It's a shame Rin doesn't know the rules." Mephisto said from directly behind him. "But whether either if them know the rules or not, if you kill them, I'll kill you."

The desire to remove Rin's heart and eat it in front of the woman was maddening. "I understand." Even if it was his right, Rin was under the protection of their older brother.

"You must do what you must. But do not reveal yourself to our youngest brother."

Spinning on his heels, Amaimon walked out of the office, grabbing a handful candies on his way out. Apparently his wife needed to learn her place.

XxX

Shiemi wiped the sweat from her brow and gave a small sigh of satisfaction. Looking around her garden she saw that the sun had already started to set without her noticing. Her mother was in town shopping and without her to remind her, Shiemi had missed dinner entirely.

Looking back down she smiled. If her mother had been here to call her inside for supper than she never would have had the time to plant her poppies. They were vivid shades of red and orange and they filled her heart and garden with delight.

She began to gather her tools so that she could head in for the night when she felt a presence behind her. Her whole body tensed in fear and the grip on her gardening shovel tightened. She closed her eyes and prayed for strength before spinning around on her knees and swinging the shovel wildly.

It was worse than she could have imagined and she let out a shriek of terror before stumbling back and falling on her rear in the dirt. The gardening shovel was held lightly between a thumb and index finger with long dark nails. Teal eyes moved from the makeshift weapon to her, making her whole body quiver in fear. Please anybody but him.

Sitting on his haunches was the Earth King Amaimon.

Shiemi willed her body to move and to run as far and as fast as it could carry her but it seemed completely frozen in his presence. He continued to stare at her with that blank face. Shiemi was sure he was planning on the best way to make her scream. But he continued to stare at her and made no moves toward her.

Gathering her meager courage she forced herself to speak. "R-R-R-Rin is-isn't h-here." She was stuttering so awful that it surprised her she managed to finish the sentence.

His head tilted to the side slightly. "I'm not here for him." He stated bluntly.

All breath and blood seemed to leave her. If he wasn't here to pick another fight with Rin then that meant he was here for her. This time she did get her limbs to move and she scrambled away from him before making a mad dash to her house. Her traditional attire making it difficult. Though what could a locked door with minimum barriers do against him?

She never made it to the house, a single hand closed around her wrist stopping her. She almost ripped her arm out of the socket in the process. Hot tears welled up in her eyes before pouring down her cheeks. There was nothing she could do, she couldn't summon her greenman and no one was around to save her. She was powerless and completely at his mercy. Turning around to face her worst fear, she saw that the demon was watching her still with the same empty expression.

"A-Are you going to k-kill me?"

"No."

Shiemi searched his face for some sort of clue but found nothing. He was like a stone wall. She looked down at her wrist that was still in his hand and couldn't help but wonder at how warm his skin was, warmer than was normal. She tugged her arm weakly but he didn't let go. Biting her lip she forced herself to look back up at the demon

"Why are you here?" Her voice had finally steadied but her dread continued to grow. Him being here could only be bad.

"You are my bride."

She whimpered and tried to pull her arm away again to no avail.

"It occurred to me that as a weak human, you wouldn't know the rules of marking." He went on. The wound on her neck throbbed painfully at the reminder. "You are mine now. No other may touch you."

Was he talking about Yukio?

"My brother has made it clear that I may not kill Rin. But if he continues to pursue you I will protect what is mine." He went on to say, his elongated fangs glinting dangerously in the fading light oh the sun.

Rin? Why would Amaimon think he was interested in her. "He's just a friend!" She pleaded. He needed to know the truth. Rin had gotten lucky last time but Amaimon was one of the Eight Princes and had been around for hundreds of years.

"He is infatuated with you. That is the reason I choose you."

It was a truth she already knew but it still hurt to hear. Of course, she still thought that Anaimon was just looking for another reason to pick a fight with Rin. They were just friends.

Amaimon tugged on her arm to bring her closer to him. She gasped at the sudden closeness of the demon and attempted to move back to a more comfortable distance, like the other side of an army of exorcists. It was an attempt in vein though as his hold was absolute.

Shiemi whimpered when he moved her collar down to reveal the bandaged wound. Amaimon swiftly yanked the bandage off and let it drop to the ground. He prodded the bite mark with one of his finger nails. Pain erupted from the spot and spread like wildfire. Crying out she fell to her knees, clutching the wound.

He finally released her wrist and watched her a moment as she willed the tears away from her eyes. "This is the only warning I'll give on the matter." He said. And then just as soon as he'd come he was gone leaving her alone in her darkened garden.

With him gone, she let the tears pour down her face and soak into the grass. The pain mixing with the grief caused her to become a sobbing mess. She couldn't let Rin or the others know he had returned, not when everything had just gotten back to normal. They would only try to fight him and die in the process. She was useless as an exorcist. But if she could protect her friends by keeping him at bay, then maybe all of this was for the best. She would bear this burden for her friends it was the only thing she could do now.

A/N

Alright, this time someone leave a review. Please let me know what you think. As it stands I'll be discontinuing this if no one expresses any interest.


	3. Hot Under the Collar

Chapter Three

Hot Under The Collar

"Shiemi." Her mothers gentle voice sounded as she opened the door. Shiemi looked up and gave her mother a weak smile.

In the last several days since Anaimon's visit she had developed a fever that continued to climb. She was sure it had something to do with when he had prodded the bite mark. The pain that had erupted at the time had only subsided slightly.

"Yukio is here to see you." She said softly. The yellow glow of the hall light spilling into her room and hurting her eyes.

"Yuki?" As glad as she was for a visit from him, she didn't want him to see her like this.

"Good evening, Shiemi." He greeted pleasantly. "I've missed you in my class the last three days."

Her stomach fluttered. "I'm sorry." She offered as he walked into the room, her mother hovering behind him.

"Your mother says you've come down with a fever, so it's perfectly acceptable to stay home from school." He reasoned.

"I hope I didn't miss too much." She mumbled, the fever making it harder and harder for her to stay awake.

"Miss Moriyama, if you could gather a few items from your shop I could bring the fever down." He said turning back to her mother.

Shiemi closed her eyes for a moment but when she next opened them it was from the pain of the wound. Yuki was now sitting on the edge if her bed with his exorcist coat off and his sleeves rolled up. A cool compress had been placed on her forehead that was rapidly becoming warm. The sudden pain, she realized was from when Yuki had removed her bandage. Seeing that she was now awake, he focused his eyes on her. "Has anything happened to agitate the mark?"

She immediately thought of Amaimon's visit. She knew she should tell him that the demon was back. But she had promised herself that she wouldn't so as to keep everyone else safe. Especially Rin. Shiemi shook her head and tried to ignore the heavy feeling in her chest.

Yuki didn't seem satisfied but said nothing more about the wound. "Drink this." He produced a small bowl. "It should help with the fever."

She leaned up slightly and with Yuki's help drank from the bowl. It was an ugly yellow color with what she imagined what old sock soup would taste like. Her face puckered and Yuki apologized for the bitter taste. She feel back asleep soon after while Yuki was talking. Her dreams taking a turn for the worse and turning into horrific nightmares.

XxX

Amaimon was really starting to regret taking a wife. Lording her over his younger brother grew less appealing each time he had to see to her. According to Mephisto, human wives were like pets in that they needed to be cared for. But even his hobgoblin Behemoth could survive on his own, it hadn't even been a whole week and this woman was bed ridden. How had she survived up to this point?

He looked in through the windows trying to find where the woman was. But she wasn't in the main house. So he checked the out building and found her. Pushing the window open he slipped in.

The woman tossed in her sleep, plagued by something unseen to him. Her cheeks were tinged pink with the fever. His brother had said that her teachers suspected it was related to the bite he had inflicted on her and through that logic it was his responsibility to make sure the fever didn't fry her brain.

He pulled back the summer quilt, revealing the top portion if her body. She was in a thin nightgown that had been rumpled with sleep. Amaimon spotted the bandage at once. That's what was making her sick. When a woman was marked she was meant to leave it uncovered, otherwise the toxins would build up and cause sickness. Of course, a mark could only get this worse off so quickly if it had been agitated, say by a simple prod.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, he peeled the adhesive tape off. The act didn't so much as rouse her from her fitful slumber. He moved her hair out of the the way wondering if she would scream with what he was about to do next.

Unfortunately, she woke up before he could remove the built up toxins from his mark. One dainty hand circled his wrist gently. Looking over, he saw that her eyes were open, just barely, the kids so heavy they threatened to close without a moments notice.

"Are you a prince?" Her voice was soft and hardly audible from lack of use.

"Yes." While he was commonly referred to as the Earth King, he was still one of the Eight Princes of Hell.

The woman's lips widened into a delirious smile. Perhaps the fever had already fried her brain. "Are you here to rescue me from the demon?"

So she was hallucinating. It was almost sad in a way. Maybe she couldn't see him properly in the dark room. Leaning forward he smirked when the fog of the fever cleared her eyes as they widened in abject terror. She sucked in a lungful of air preparing to scream but he was to fast and quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

With the same hand he forced her head to the side to reveal his mark. And despite her pathetic attempts at fighting against him, he leaned down and bit into her neck once more. She cried out against his hand as tears streamed down her face. He began to inhale the toxins with some of her blood. It was just as sweet as he remembered with that honey like tint to it. Beneath him, her tiny fists had stopped pounding on him and were now clutching the fabric of his sleeves tightly. A good idea, if she continued to struggle it would only cause tearing around his mark. She whimpered with each mouthful he took but otherwise stayed still for him

When Amaimon was satisfied that he had removed enough of the pent up toxin he removed his fangs from her flesh. Using his long tongue, he started to clean the wound. At some point, the woman had moved her hands from his sleeves to bunch the cloth of his vest on his back in her fists.

Finally finishing, he moved to hover above her. His wife's eyes were clenched tightly shut and were wet with tears. He looked back down to his mark, already it looked better. And as long as she kept it uncovered it would heal. Though, he found himself not too upset about the chance to taste her blood again.

Amaimon used the hand covering her mouth and pulled so that she was facing him. Her eyes peeked open and blinked away a few if the tears. "Do not cover my mark. As you've just experienced, covering it will lead to the toxins building up which will make you sick. If you do as I say, the toxins will evaporate as it heals. Do you understand?"

She nodded her head and winced, probably from the fresh bite mark. A moment passed. "Do not scream." Again she nodded her head. He had his doubts that she was telling the truth but let go anyway.

True to her word, she didn't scream. Instead she just watched him, pressed into the mattress as far as she could force herself. He sat there a minute longer, the two just staring at each other. Deciding he'd done his job he stood up. There where other places he could be that weren't as boring.

"Thank you!" She soundly shouted followed by a squeak.

He paused in his steps and turned around to see that she had sat up with her hands covering her mouth. She had the proverbial 'hand caught in the cookie jar' look to her. He raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior, even for a human. Lowering her hands she offered him a timid smile. "Thank you. I feel better already."

He sneered and looked away from her. "You would have been useless to me if you were dead." Glancing back to her he saw that she had lowered her head but was still smiling. What a weird human.

"Still," She raised her head, this time her smile had transformed into something kinder. "You could have just told me to keep the wound-"

"Mark." He interrupted.

"Huh?"

Amaimon sighed and turned back around to face her fully. "It is not a wound, but a mark, my mark. Refer to it as such."

She gingerly brushed the edges of the freshly opened mark and nodded. "You could have just told me to keep you mark uncovered. Instead you came all this way to help me heal yourself. So thank you."

She had a point. He could have just told her to keep it uncovered. "This way was merely faster." He said and before she had a chance to humanize any more if his actions, he left.

XxX

Amaimon swore at himself for allowing such a weak and pathetic thing to toy with him. He should have just slit her throat that night and be done with it. Instead he found himself following her around and he didn't even know why. The worst part was that his older brother had found out and while he didn't say anything aloud, Amaimon could tell by those troublesome smiles.

She had returned to satisfactory health after a day if bed rest. Her first action upon getting out of bed was to tend to the large garden that was her domain. He had never been one for flowers or pretty things, but it had been interesting to watch her go about caring for the plants. As far as humans went, she seemed so pure. Something he hadn't seen in a mortal before.

According to his older brother, she was still viewed as a child by the other humans for her young age. But a mere century or two ago she would have been of marrying age and expected to give birth to sons. The humans were so strange, changing their laws and views like the changing of the tides.

From what he had gathered from his surveillance of the woman, her schoolmates were unaware of her marital status. It bothered him. The man with pink hair seemed harmless enough. But it was those bastard twin brothers if his that annoyed him.

Rin, even though he had witnessed the marking himself, continued to be overly infatuated with his woman. The other one wasn't so bad other than his bride was infatuated with him. At least he was clueless about it. But why did she continue this one sided romance?

Should he talk with Mephisto about his frustrations or was it only an effort in further aggravation? Amaimon grimaced at the thought. He could hear his older brother now laughing at him for having marital troubles with his human wife. For now he'd just have to study human relations and go from there. While she didn't have to love him, he wouldn't stand for her loving anyone else either.

A/N

loved the reviews last time. Let me know what you think about this chapter!


	4. Mistaken Manga

Chapter Four

Mistaken Manga

The first thing Shiemi did when she got home was to pass through the store to greet her mother before rushing through her garden. She had been talking with Yuki and Rin after delivering Yuki's order from the shop and hadn't realized how late it was until the sun had already set. Thankfully, she had already tended to her garden before the errand so all she had now was some homework before bed.

She opened the door to the out building she had made her home and walked in. Leaving the light off she ventured to the small bathroom where she washed her face of the days grime. After she removed her shoes and stockings, throwing the latter in the hamper the large striped bow followed soon after. Shiemi wasn't fond of the school uniform Sir Pheles had given her. It was so tiny that she felt almost naked. Her own clothing had been much more comfortable even if it was ill suited for cram school.

Removing the rest of her uniform, she walked back into her small bedroom. At first, she had moved into her grandmothers old space as a way of becoming closer to her garden and memory. But after the incident with the minor demon her mother agreed it was good for her to have her own space and be used to living on her own. It had been lonely at first and she still worried about demons and intruders even with the warding. After all, Amaimon had come and gone twice already with no one being any the wiser.

"Are you going to take much longer? I've waited enough as it is."

Shiemi shrieked and looked around wildly for whomever had spoken. Lounging on her bed was Amaimon, watching her curiously. She covered herself as best she could and raced back to her bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. What was he doing here? Just because she was curious about whether he had some good in him or not didn't mean she wasn't still terrified of him.

With shaking hands she slipped the silk robe her mother had gotten her for her birthday on. She had planned to go back out into the bedroom. The only problem was that now that her hand was on the doorknob she couldn't seem to force herself to turn it. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, willing the demon on her bed to be a figment of her tired imagination.

With delusional hope giving her the necessary coursge, she twisted the knob and poked her head outside. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on her bed that was empty. Relief washed over her and she stepped out of the bathroom. Perhaps the appearance of the demon prince was a hallucination left over from the fever. Walking further into the room she kept an eye out just in case.

"Finally."

This time the voice came from behind her, between her and the bathroom. There was no where to run, he'd catch her before she could take another step. So with dread welling up inside of her, Shiemi turned around to face the demon.

He didn't look malicious, but then he never did. Amaimon always had a board look to him with his blank face and half lidded eyes.

Shiemi didn't know what to do, her mind was completely empty. It seemed rude to outright ask him why he was here. She was also afraid he might kill her for the insult. So instead she blurted out the first thing hat came to mind.

"It's healed!" She said louder than she meant to. Her cheeks heated up with an embarrassed blush. "You mark has healed. I was- I was surprised when it healed though."

Shiemi brought her hand up to cup Amaimon's mark. From the moment she had been told what happened she had dreaded the ugly scar that would take the place of the wound. Instead of lumped and gnarled flesh, a circle of silvery scar tissue had appeared with strange writing in it, it looked more like someone had branded her rather than bit her. Sir Pheles had been the only one capable of reading it, saying it was the language of Gehenna.

Amaimon brushed her hand away and pulled the collar of her robe down. She was hesitant at first, fearing he might bite her again, but after a moment she craned her neck to give him a better view. His thumb glided over the spot causing Shiemi to shiver at the sensation.

Leaning away from him she adjusted her robe, making sure she was as covered as much as possible. She'd like to just change into her nightgown and go to bed, but it didn't look like she'd get a chance to sleep anytime soon.

"Ah, is-is there anything you need?" She ventured, hoping she didn't sound too rude.

"It's come to my attention that humans view a bond such as this differently then we do in Gehenna." Amaimon said with a frown. He looked frustrated with the very idea. "Tomorrow we will go to the haunted house together."

There was complete silence as her brain tried to process. "Um." Was he planning to take her out on a date? "I'm afraid I don't understand."

His frown deepened further. "Tomorrow evening I will pick you up. Be prepared." And with that said he walked past her and out of the room.

Shiemi stood there a minute longer in the dark shaking her head. "But, there aren't any haunted houses in True Cross Town." She mumbled quietly to herself. What did this mean? Was she going out on a date with a demon? He didn't really give her a choice in the matter. Why would he do that if she was just a pawn in his games with Rin? This was all so confusing!

Moaning to herself she fell to her knees. "Why?"

XxX

Amaimon ignored the penetrating stare of his older brother in favor of the odd assortment of things his brother had collected while here. It ranged from small trinkets and action figures to an entire bookcased wall of anime and manga. It was from this very wall that he had gotten his idea to take his bride in a date from.

Finally having enough of the hole being burnt into the back of his skull, he turned to face his brother. Mephisto was wearing the shirt with his latest favorite character in the front. "What is it, brother?"

"Where did you get the idea to take Miss Moriyama to a haunted house?" He asked.

Was that all that was bothering him. Walking down toward the end if his Japanese media wall, he plucked the manga that had given him the idea. He tossed it through the air to Mephisto, ignoring his brother's outraged cry. Giving him a sour look, his brother turned the book over and promptly blanched. He flipped through a few of the pages and closed it.

"You will not do anything that was illustrated in here." He said waving the book at him.

Amaimon tilted his head In confusion. "Why not? Isn't that what a wife is supposed to do? That way seemed more fun."

Mephisto shook his head. "Absolutely not. Things are different in this day and age. Most women expect you to get to know them before they'll do these types of things regardless if you've laid a claim to her."

"Get to know her?" He said slowly. What an odd concept.

"Yes. Take her out for dinner or the movies. Something like that where you two can talk to each other. That's how it's done now." He waved the manga around again. "If you try to do this with her I'll have no choice but to lock you up."

Amaimon stiffened at the threat. His brother never made such claims loosely. "I understand." He said before leaving. He only had a few short hours to come up with an activity that fell with in his brothers criteria.

"And stay out of my hentai!" He called just as Amaimon left the room.

A/N

Sorry this chapter is so short but the next one should be longer. As always, please leave a review with your thoughts on the story. I love to read them.


	5. Red Licorice

Chapter Five

Red Licorice

Shiemi had been a mess all day and her classmates and teachers had taken notice. Yuki and Shura Sensei had taken her aside after their classes to ask if everything was alright. She knew what they really wanted to know was if Amaimon was back but there was no point to it. He wasn't causing any trouble besides scaring and confusing her.

What was really eating at her was the impending date she had with the demon king. He had told her to be ready that evening for a haunted house but she didn't know what that meant. Was he taking her to an attraction or an actual haunted house? Was it some type of demon thing? It was so confusing that she hadn't been able to concentrate on anything else all day.

Wearing a kimono would be her first choice. But she couldn't properly run in it should the need arise. Maybe she should ask her mother to take her shopping for more modern clothing. But there wasn't enough time. Amaimon hadn't even given her an exact time of when he'd come to get her.

Shiemi paused in her steps, she had been so wrapped up in the what ifs that it was already getting late into the day. What if he was already waiting for her? Other than the mind control and bites he hadn't done anything particularly mean to her. But she didn't want to chance his temper either. So with a deep breath she set off at a run towards her home.

XxX

Amaimon arrived in the woman's room to find it empty just like the previous day. He made himself comfortable on her bed once more and settled into wait for his tardy wife. He had decided on taking her to see a movie and upon arrival would allow her to choose which one. He had never actually been to a cinema before. The only reason he had chosen it was all the candy he could eat while he waited for it to end.

The sound of the door opening prompted him to lift his head off the pillow. He saw her bent over with her hands on her knees breathing heavily. She stayed like for several minutes while she caught her breath after which she stood up straight and spotted him.

"Ah, I'm not late am I?" She asked with a cringe.

He sat up on the bed. "No." He'd only just laid down after all.

There was something, what was the word? Pretty, in her flushed cheeks. That's odd, he'd never really taken much notice of whether someone was pretty or not. He of course knew that his bride wasn't ugly, but he'd never given much thought to her looks other than that. She was certainly more appealing than female demons which had to compete with the males less they be cut down before having a chance to spawn.

He jumped off the bed and walked across the room, finally stopping in front of her. She took a step back and seemed to shrink into herself. She showed all the signs of fear. "Do you fear me, woman?" He asked point blank and leaned in until she took another step back, the wall preventing her going any further.

"I- y-yes." She managed to stutter out. "Are-are you going to hurt me?"

He tilted his head and took another step closer. She pushed herself into the wall almost as if she was hoping she could simply slip through the solid object and make a getaway. "Not unless you try to fight me." It was laughable really. What could she possible do to him?

She shook her head. "I won't."

It occurred to him suddenly that he didn't know her name. He'd heard people say it before but had never actually committed it to memory. "What's your name, woman?"

The fear flickered away to be replaced with disbelief. "You mean this whole time you didn't know my name?" He stared at her. She still hadn't answered his question yet. "Shiemi Moriyama." She said after a few seconds.

He leaned away from her and held a hand out to her. "Then let us go now, Shiemi." She paused and looked down to his hand before hesitantly accepting it.

In his studies, he had learned that humans held hands with their lovers though he hadn't learnt the reason why yet. Gripping her hand tighter he pulled her from the out building and through her garden to the gate. She trailed behind him until they reached the bridge where he stopped.

"Where exactly are we going?" She asked.

He pulled her to him and lifted her as he had in the forest. She yelped in surprise at the sudden action as her tiny fingers anchored into the shoulders of his coat. "Brother said that humans generally need to learn each other before they go to haunted houses. So instead, we'll be going to the movies."

And before she could question him further, he jumped up on the side of the bridge and looked down below him. The cinema he had chosen beforehand was south of her home so it would be best to jump here.

"Wait, what are you-" Her question was cut short when an ear splitting scream ripping from her throat as he stepped off the ledge.

Amaimon had thought it would be fun to scare her a little more than he usually did. He had misjudged her strength, however, when she abandoned her hold on his shoulders to wrap her arms around his head. This caused his face to bury in her bosom and while it was incredibly soft, now was not the time.

Managing to free his eye sight he faced a new problem. While he could clearly see the rapidly approaching ground, he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the white cotton panties mere inches from his face. The wind from their decent had caused the hem of her skirt to fly up giving him a beautiful view. He was so distracted from the combination of her screaming, chest and cotton panties that they almost collided with the ground. Thankfully he managed to prepare in time to avoid death or injury.

Amaimon soon found himself in another predicament. His woman hadn't yet released him from her hold. "We'll be late for the movie if you don't let go." His words were muffled but she seemed to hear him.

Slowly, her grip loosened as he set her down. Her eyes were wide and wild looking around shakily. "Next-Next time lets just walk, please." She still hadn't completely let go of him.

"I'll keep that in mind." That was a lie. The only thing that would be on his mind next time was what color her panties were. If they didn't get going to the cinema soon then they would be going to the haunted house after all. It was her duty as his mate. She finally managed to let go of him and stood awkwardly away from him. He gave her a moment to straighten out her clothes and hair before he grabbed her hand once more and lead her to the cinema.

XxX

Shura had to blink several times and rub her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was indeed real. When it turned out that her eyes weren't lying to her, she chugged the rest of the beer in her hand and shoved the empty can into the hands of some kid passing by. With that out of the way, she marched across the street with every intention of raising unholy hell.

"Ah, ah, ahh." The tutting of the one man with the power to stop her sounded from above.

Stopping in her tracks she looked up with a snarl on her face. "You." Her voice was low and full of venom. "What the hell is going on here?"

Mephisto smiled delightedly from his sitting position on the lamp post. "It looks like a couple on a date to me."

She snarled a few choice phrases that would have a lesser man blushing. "After what he did to her, how can you allow him anywhere near her?"

The odd couple had turned a corner and Shura made to follow them. Mephisto had other ideas, however, and held her back with his umbrella after jumping down next to her. "You're an exorcist, you know the laws of marking. Not even Satan himself can break that bond."

Shura seethed and pushed the frilly umbrella away from her. "She was just a pawn, why is he here?"

Mephisto hooked his arm with hers and lead them after the two at a more subdued pace. "He's making sure she doesn't stray. Between dearest Rin and Yukio, he felt a bit territorial."

She wanted nothing more at that moment than to smack the mocking smirk off his ridiculous face. "So what, after forcing her in to that bond he's taking her on a date?" She asked, the very idea ludicrous.

It seemed, though, she had hit the nail on head from Mephisto's broad smile. She let out a disgusted grunt and pulled herself away from the demon. "Why are you even here?"

Mephisto sighed dramatically and held his hands to his chest. "As Miss Moriyama's superior ranking official, I found it my duty to over see her evening out with the highly dangerous demon." He grandly gestured to the couple that had just walked into a cinema.

"A movie! How romantic!" He turned around to Shura who's frown deepened with each passing second.

"Let's go clown, I'm overseeing this too." She growled before stalking across the street. They quickly bought tickets to the same film as Moriyama and Anaimon and would have followed them into the theater. But Mephisto just had to stop and buy a box of every candy offered.

Giving in, Shura purchased a large popcorn. If worse came to worse she could always throw kernels at the demon prince. They arrived just as the lights were dimming and the curtain was drawn. Taking a pair of seats several rows behind the couple they made them selves comfortable. Shura hardly paid attention to the trailers, her eyes focused on the back of the Earth Kings head. Only when the movie began to play did she glance up at the screen It was that romantic movie that had been advertised on television for the last several weeks.

She turned to glower at the giddy demon beside her. "Really? A romantic movie? You couldn't have suggested taking her to dinner or something?"

"You should have seen his first choice of a date. Miss Moriyama would have been limping to class the next morning." He accentuated that tid bit of information with a wink.

Shura's eyes widened before they retrained on the back of that pervy little demon. One wrong move and she'd kill him if it was the last thing she did. Considering his older and, by far, stronger brother was sitting right next to her, his blood on her hands would be the last thing she saw before greeting death.

It was thirty minutes into the film when it happened. Amaimon had taken a cue from the couple in front of him and put his arm around the tamer. Moriyama had turned red enough that even Shura could see it from this distance in the dark. The girl turned to him with wide eyes and he in like turned to her. For a minute, Shura thought he might lean in and kiss her and readied a kernel. But she was proved wrong when instead he offered her a red licorice. This wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't feed it to her. But he did. So in retaliation, Shura bounced the readied kernel off the Earth Kings head.

His shoulders tensed before his head turned around to face her. In the seat next to her, Mephisto chuckled. She knew that Amaimon had been aware of their presence what with him being a high level demon and all that. But this was the first time he acknowledged them.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly before turning back to Moriyama. He must have said something because she turned with about two inches of the licorice between her lips. Leaning in he bit the excess of the candy, his lips brushing hers. The poor girl turned so red and her eyes grew so wide that it looked as if her eyes would pop out and steam would rise from her scalp any minute now.

"What a rascal!" Mephisto snickered beside her with a grin and a handful of sour candies. She snarled something nasty enough to have the people behind them move to a different part of the theater. Mephisto patted her shoulder mockingly. "Now, now, be nice."

With a decidedly unladylike snort, she turned back to watch the couple. Mephisto was right about one thing, if she didn't play nice than Amaimon would take it out on Moriyama. Heaven nor hell would be able to stop Rin if Moriyama turned up pregnant from that demon. For now she'd just keep an eye on them.

A/N

Alright, Shiemi's got her first date! Let me know what you think, I'll be posting the next chapter soon.


	6. Interlude I

Chapter Six

Interlude I

Shiemi bowed her head the next day after class when Shura Sensei called her to stay behind. Like the day before, her mind had been anywhere but her studies. It seemed the date she had with Amaimon had further aggravated her wandering mind and now she was being called on it.

She stood quietly next to the teachers desk while everyone else filed out. Rin looked back at her but she gave him a reassuring smile. He returned the smile before leaving her alone with Shura Sensei.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked.

Shura Sensei glanced over to the door before turning her half lidded eyes toward Shiemi. "Before I start, is there something you want to tell me?"

Shiemi bit her lip and looked down to her feet. She had promised her self to bear this burden alone for everyone's safety. But she couldn't lie, especially to someone whom she trusted her life to. "Amaimon's back. He's been here since I was sick." She finally admitted reluctantly. The weight that had been pressing on her chest for weeks now finally eased up some.

"I know." Shura Sensei said after a pause. Shiemi immediately looked up to face her teacher. She didn't look mad or betrayed, she looked tired.

"You know?"

"Yeah, saw you two out last night and ran into that clown, Pheles." She muttered the last part irritably. It was no secret that Shura Sensei and Sir Pheles didn't get along. "Anyway, he explained the situation."

"I'm so sorry!" She apologized, close to tears. "When he came back he didn't seem like he was there to hurt anyone and I didn't want Rin to go chasing after him. So I kept quiet and now I don't know what to do."

Shura Sensei looked away, annoyed. "Look, there's really nothing we can do. But you were right, we can't let that little idiot know. If he tries to fight Anaimon over you than he'll only get killed and this time Pheles can't stop him."

The tears were dangerously close to spilling now. She didn't want Rin to die, he was one of her friend.

"For now you'll just have to go along with it, I guess. Hopefully he'll get bored and go back to Gehenna. But if he does anything you don't like you tell me or Mephisto immediately." She said with a frown.

Shiemi nodded. "Thank you, Sensei!" She said with a bow. "Yeah, yeah. No go on and get out of her before Okumura accuses me of corrupting you."

She waved goodbye and trotted over to the door where she paused and turned around. "Sensei." She was hesitant to even bring it up really. "Do you know why Amaimon would say he has to learn me before he takes me to a haunted house?"

Shura Sensei raised both eyebrows in complete bewilderment. "I have no idea."

"Oh, I thought it might be something demons did." She blushed and then with a final wave, she left.

XxX

Amaimon found himself annoyed with Mephisto for the first time in centuries. Usually, he went along with whatever orders he was given by the older and more powerful demon without any problems, there was always a good fight or sweet treats in it for him. But this time he was busy with his own things and didn't have time for Mephisto's errands.

Really, he shouldn't have been so frustrated. It was a simple errand that would take him to Gehenna for a month or so. He'd probably even get to fight with Astaroth if he played his cards right. So why was he so pissed off?

The reason was right there walking next to his wife. His younger, half human brother was animatedly talking to Shiemi as they walked across the courtyard of True Cross Academy. While he couldn't hear what was being said, he could see her laughing with him. Mephisto had expressly forbid him from not only revealing himself to Rin, but also from inciting a fight should he be discovered upon pain of death. And even if it was within his right to retaliate, he did not want to die. Not over a measly human.

Narrowing his eyes he watched them enter the main part of the school. When he returned to Assiah, he'd deal with this. For now he needed to rid such trivial things from his mind and focus on the task at hand. If given the opportunity, any number of lesser demons would attempt an attack on his life in order to absorb his power.

Turning away from the school, Amaimon opened a small gate before making his return to Gehenna. The overwhelming stench of sulfur and decay washed over him like a bucket of cold water. There was nothing but dry cracked ground and the haze of miasma for as far as the eye could see. The bones of various demons scattered the landscape making it look like a hellish elephant graveyard.

Home, sweet home.

Amaimon reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cherry lollipop. He popped the sugary treat into his mouth

"Well, well look who it is."

Amaimon was loath to turn around and face the eternal pain in his ass. Astaroth was at the top of a very short list of those capable of pissing him off. Rin Okamaru had recently made the list as well for his insufferable flirtatious. Turning around he found the King of Rot smiling insanely at him. Unlike most of the Eight Princes of Hell, he was not a son of Satan. He was one of Azaleas cousins on his mothers side actually but shared in blood with the God of Gehenna himself. The only other demon who wasn't a Son was Egyn, the Water King. And he was on par with Amaimon only because he was a great deal older.

Amaimon pulled the lollipop from his mouth. "Brother has a job for you."

Astaroth's new human face turned into a snarl. Apparently he had decided to keep the body he had used to locate Rin Okamaru with. The body was of a teenage boy, younger than his human body with white hair and an assortment of facial piercings.

"And why should I do anything for that bastard if he can't even come to Gehenna to ask me himself." Astaroth growled and lowered his head as though he was planning to head butt him like a ram.

"If you have a problem, Astaroth. We can settle this right now." He was itching for a fight and the possibility of ripping into the lesser demons flesh was nearly over powering. Astaroth let a twisted grin curl his lips before he charged. With an excited cry, he followed suit, claws extended dangerously.

XxX

Shiemi hummed tunelessly to herself as she dug a small hole for some new flowers. She had half expected Amaimon to be waiting for her when she returned home and found herself disappointed when he wasn't. It wasn't that she wanted a repeat of the night before, more that she wanted to set boundaries. She had been extremely uncomfortable when he had eaten half the candy that was already in her mouth.

It scared her what he might do to her if she mentioned it to him. Up until five months ago, she had only ever spent time with her mother and grandmother. Her social interaction with boys were limited to Yuki, Rin and the other esquires. She didn't know what was appropriate and what wasn't. All she did know, was that it was too much too soon. Hopefully, he would understand.

"Shiemi!"

Hearing her name, she set down her shovel and turned to see Rin waving excitedly from behind the gate. Glancing around as discreetly as she could and seeing no sign of Amaimon, she waved Rin into the garden. Amaimon had told her point blank that she belonged to him now and he wouldn't tolerate any others, especially Rin, pursuing her. It confused her though because he was just a friend. But apparently Amaimon saw it differently and she would have to tread carefully because of that.

"Rin, what are you doing here?" She asked pleasantly.

He returned her smile and took a seat beside her in the grass. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over to our dorm and work on our homework together?" A light blush donned his cheeks.

It was then that Shiemi understood why Amaimon had mentioned Rin specifically when he had told her the laws of marking. He liked her. The realization made her blush and she looked back down to her flower bed.

"Actually, I've already finished it." She lied to him. The familiar weight she had become so accustomed to over the last several months increasing upon her chest. She couldn't force herself to look at Rin.

This whole situation was almost laughable. She had been forced upon Amaimon while in love with Yuki whose twin brother liked her and was the younger brother of Amaimon. It was ridiculous! Things like this weren't supposed to happen in real life, they weren't supposed to happen to her.

"Oh, ok. Maybe next time."

He sounded just so very dejected that she couldn't stop herself. "I could use some help in the garden if you don't mind getting dirty."

His face had brightened and even his tail had started to wag. Shiemi could only hope that Amaimon didn't find out and decide to take his anger out on either of them. She smiled and handed her friend a small shovel with instructions on where and how deep he should dig.

Amaimon frightened her and made her feel hopelessly helpless. When he was near she could hardly function as her body and mind screamed to run from such an overwhelming power. And when he touched her, she wanted to cry because she never knew if he would hurt her or caress her. The softer touches were by far the worst though and she didn't know what she was supposed to think when he did it.

Shura Sensei was the only one besides Sir Pheles who knew of the Earth Kings return. The thought of talking about those kind of feelings with Sir Pheles was almost scarier than Amaimon himself. That only left Shura Sensei. While it wasn't quite as terrifying it would still be grossly uncomfortable. Maybe she could talk to Izumo about it. She was mean sometimes, but Shiemi was sure she would give her good advice.

With that decided, she pushed the thoughts from her mind and continued with her gardening.

A/N

i know that my chapters aren't very long. That's because I've already decided where each chapter will stop. Also, I do update pretty fast for the most part. Some of you have asked if I take suggestions. I do, but I can't promise each suggestion will make it in. Anyway, thank you for reading.


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